This course will explore the earliest foundation s of the Christian
tradition in the visual arts in late antiquity (ca. 200 to 565 A.D.)
through out the Mediterranean basin. Architecture, statuary and
carved sarcophagi, mosaics and frescoes, book illustration, and
other media will be examined. This tradition will also be probed in
terms of competing visual power structures-the imperial office,
paganism, and Judaism. Emphasis will be placed on the arts
sponsored by emperors and empresses. Church leaders, and high
ranking officials in the major metropolitan centers: Rome, Milan,
Ravenna, Constantinople, Thessaloniki, and Jerusalem. A cultural
and social approach will be taken to specific works of art and
architecture